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Athens Journal of Humanities & Arts - Volume 7, Issue 1 – Pages 45-62

https://doi.org/10.30958/ajha.7-1-2 doi=10.30958/ajha.7-1-2

Semiotics in the Study of Aleksander Tansman᾽s

Cultural Identity

Anna Granat-Janki*

The affiliation of the Polish émigré composers with Polish culture has often raised doubts

which would probably not have occurred had those composers stayed in Poland. These

doubts arise from the fact that in some cases it is difficult to determine those composers᾽

cultural identity because their nationality is not that obvious. However, the composers in

question never renounced their Polish identity and this fact is evident in their music.

One of such composers was Aleksander Tansman (1897-1986). He was of Polish-Jewish

origins and spent most of his life as an émigré in foreign lands, from 1938 being a French

citizen. Although his works were not performed in Poland for a long time and were

consistently neglected by music critics, the composer unambiguously defined his

affiliation with Polish culture through his music. Semiotics has turned out to be a helpful

tool in studying Tansman᾽s cultural identity since his music can be perceived as a kind

of cultural discourse. The composer used signs: non-musical (composer᾽s own statements,

titles, dedications, historical figure) and musical ones (quotes, musical genres, stylization,

imaginative folklore, musical symbols), which have the attributes of Polishness. The aim

of the paper is to prove the thesis that music may be a means of composers᾽ cultural

identification and this can be done by applying a semiotic perspective to the study.

Introduction

The affiliation of the Polish émigré composers with Polish culture has often

raised doubts which would probably not have occurred had those composers

stayed in Poland. These doubts arise from the fact that in some cases it is difficult

to determine those composers᾽ cultural identity because their nationality is not

that obvious.1 However, the composers in question never renounced their Polish

identity and this fact is evident in their music. They were aware that as émigrés

they also served their country and contributed to Polish culture. The more hostile

the Polish authorities and musical circles were towards them, the stronger that

awareness grew. Regretfully, in their homeland Polishness was perceived as

limited to the state᾽s boundaries.2 The problem in question concerned the

* Professor, The Karol Lipiński Academy of Music in Wrocław, Poland.

1. The ethnic and cultural identity of Polish composers of Jewish descent living in the

United States (including Alexandre Tansman) has been discussed by Maja Trochimczyk.

[Maja Trochimczyk, "The Question of Identity: Polish-Jewish Composers in California,"

Polin: Studies in Polish Jewry: Polish-Jewish Relations in North America 19 (2007), 343-371.]

2. Zofia Helman, "Muzyka na obczyźnie" (Music in exile), in Między Polską a światem

(Between Poland and the world), ed. Marta Fik (Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Krąg, 1992), 214;

Vol. 7, No. 1 Granat-Janki: Semiotics in the Study of Aleksander Tansman᾽s...

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generation of composers born in the years 1892–1919.3 There were different

reasons behind those artists᾽ decisions to leave Poland or stay abroad and their

contact with Polish government and Polish musical circles also took different

course. One of such émigrés was Aleksander Tansman (1897-1986), who is the

subject of this discussion (Photo 1).

Photo 1. Aleksander Tansman with a dedication to Anna Granat-Janki. Photo by

Maurice Hatton

Source: Anna Granat-Janki᾽s private collection.

Helman, "Emigranci z wyboru" (Émigrés by choice), Polski Rocznik Muzykologiczny 8

(2010), 180-185.

3. The following composers should be mentioned here: Karol Rathaus (1895-1954),

Aleksander Tansman (1897-1986), Feliks Łabuński(1892-1979), Antoni Szałowski (1907-

1973), Michał Spisak (1914-1965), Szymon Laks (1902-1983), Jerzy Fitelberg (1903-1951),

Michał Kondracki (1902-1984), Roman Maciejewski (1910-1998), Tadeusz Zygfryd Kassern

(1904-1957), Roman Palester (1907-1989), Roman Haubenstock-Ramati (1919-1994), Andrzej

Panufnik (1914-1991). Zofia Helman calls them "émigrés by choice;" Helman, "Muzyka na

obczyźnie, 180.

Athens Journal of Humanities and Arts January 2020

47

Subject Literature and Methodological Concept

The literature on Polish émigré composers and their identity includes such

publications as articles of Zofia Helman,4 Maja Trochimczyk,5 a joint monograph

edited by Krystyna Tarnawska-Kaczorowska.6 The issue has also been discussed

in publications on individual artists, including Aleksander Tansman. Among the

works devoted to the composer the following are worthy of note: the books by

Janusz Cegiełła,7 Anna Granat-Janki,8 and Andrzej Wendland,9 articles by Anna

Granat-Janki10 and joint monographs.11 However, in none of the above-mentioned

works have the authors undertaken a comprehensive study into the problem of

Aleksander Tansman᾽s cultural identity. There have also been no attempts to

analyse the problem with semiotic tools.12

4. Helman, "Muzyka na obczyźnie, 209-225; Helman, "Emigranci z wyboru, 180-185.

5. Trochimczyk, "The Question of Identity; Trochimczyk, "Exiles or Emigrants? Polish

Composers in America," in East Central Europe in Exile, vol 1: Transatlantic Migrations, ed.

Anna Mazurkiewicz (Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2013).

6. Muzyka źle obecna [Ill-present music], parts 1 and 2, ed. Krystyna Tarnawska-

Kaczorowska (Warszawa: ZKP, 1989).

7. Janusz Cegiełła, Dziecko szczęścia, Aleksander Tansman i jego czasy (A child of luck.

Aleksander Tansman and his times), vol. 1 (Warszawa: 86 Press, 1986), vol. 2 (Łódź: 86 Press,

1996).

8. Anna Granat-Janki, Forma w twórczości instrumentalnej Aleksandra Tansmana (Form

in Aleksander Tansman᾽s instrumental music) (Wrocław: Akademia Muzyczna we Wrocławiu,

1995).

9. Andrzej Wendland, Gitara w twórczości Aleksandra Tansmana (The guitar in

Aleksander Tansman᾽s music) (Łódź: Ars Longa Edition, 1996).

10. Anna Granat-Janki, "Les changements de style d᾽Aleksandre Tansman dans sa

musique instrumentale," in Hommage au compositeur Alexandre Tansman (1897–1986),

Proceedings of the international conference of November 26, 1997 in Sorbonne, texts

reunited by Pierre Guillot (Sorbonne: Presses of the University of Paris, 2000), 69-84;

Granat-Janki, "Tradition and Modernity in Music of Aleksander Tansman," Polish Music

Journal 4, no. 1; Granat-Janki, "Valeurs et fonctions de la musique d᾽Alexandre Tansman"

(Values and Functions of Aleksander Tansman᾽s Music), in Music: Function and Value, vol.

2, ed. Teresa Malecka, Małgorzata Pawłowska (Akademia Muzyczna Kraków, 2013), 554-

568.

11. Hommage au compositeur Alexandre Tansman (1897-1986), Proceedings of the

international conference of November 26, 1997 in Sorbonne, texts reunited by Pierre

Guillot (Sorbonne: Presses of the University of Paris, 2000); Aleksander Tansman 1897-1986,

AM Scientific Notebook in Lodz no. 25, ed. Marta Szoka (Łódź: Akademia Muzyczna,

1997).

12. Literature on music semiotics is particularly extensive. The most inspiring works

in this field have been authored by Eero Tarasti and include the book Signs of Music. A

Guide to Musical Semiotics (Berlin, New York: Mouton de Gruyer, 2002).


48

Any deliberations on the issue of Tansman᾽s cultural identity must begin

with an overview of the composer᾽s life. This should allow for the factors that

influenced his ethnic and cultural identity to be identified.

Semiotics has turned out to be a helpful tool in studying Tansman᾽s cultural

identity since his music can be perceived as a kind of cultural discourse. The

composer uses signs-codes which convey information from the sender (composer)

to the receiver (listener) in an act of communication. The analytical procedure

employed in this article will consist in identification of signs used by the

composer and interpretation of meanings that they carry. According to the Czech

semiotician and structuralist Jan Mukařovský:

Only when the full meaning has been grasped, does a work of art bespeak the

author᾽s attitude towards reality and become a call for the receiver to take their

own – cognitive, emotional and volitional – stand towards reality.13

The analysis of Tansman᾽s compositions will consist in identifying non-musical

signs (composer᾽s statements, titles, dedications, historical figures) and musical

signs (quotes, musical genres, stylization, imaginative folklore, musical symbols)

which are attributes of Polishness.

The discussion of non-musical signs will concentrate on a work of art as a

phenomenon that exists in historical and cultural context.14 The analysis of

musical signs in turn will have as its focus the elements of musical structure and

the relations between them. This original method of analysis has already been

presented in the article entitled "Muzyka jako dyskurs polityczny. O utworach

kompozytorów polskich drugiej połowy XX wieku w perspektywie semiotycznej"

(Music as discourse. The works by Polish composers of the second half of the 20th

century from a semiotic perspective).15

13. "Dopiero wtedy kiedy ów pełny sens zostanie domknięty, staje się dzieło sztuki

świadectwem stosunku twórcy do rzeczywistości i wezwaniem pod adresem odbiorcy,

aby i on wobec rzeczywistości zajął swoje własne stanowisko – poznawcze, emocjonalne i

wolicjonalne zarazem." Jan Mukařovský, Wśród znaków i struktur. Wybór szkiców (Among

signs and structures. A selection of sketches), ed. and intro. Janusz Sławiński (Warszawa: PIW,

1970), 31.

14. Mieczysław Tomaszewski, O muzyce polskiej w perspektywie intertekstualnej (Polish

music form the intertextual perspective) (Akademia Muzyczna Kraków, 2005), 10.

15. Granat-Janki, "Muzyka jako dyskurs polityczny. O utworach kompozytorów

polskich drugiej połowy XX wieku w perspektywie semiotycznej" (Music as political

discourse. The music of Polish composers of the second half of the 20th century form the

semiotic perspective), in Analiza dzieła muzycznego. Historia – theoria – praxis (Analysis of a

musical work. History - theoria - praxis), vol. 2, ed. Anna Granat-Janki, Bogusław Raba,

Joanna Subel, Andrzej Wolański, Agnieszka Zwierzycka (Akademia Muzyczna Wrocław,

2012), 189-202.


49

The aim of the article is to validate the thesis that music may be a means

of composers᾽ cultural identification and this can be done by applying a semiotic

perspective to the study.

Aleksander Tansman᾽s Life

What was Aleksander Tansman᾽s life like, then? He was born to an

assimilated Jewish family in Łódź, Poland, in 1897. Thus, he was of Polish-Jewish

descent. His mother tongue was Polish and he completed his education in

Poland. He studied law at Warsaw University, took private harmony and

counterpoint lessons with Piotr Rytel and attended composition classes with

Henryk Melcer. In 1919 he won three first prizes at a composer᾽s competition

organised by the Polish Artistic Club in Warsaw. In spite of the success that he

had achieved, Tansman left for France at the end of 1919 and settled in Paris. His

decision was motivated by artistic reasons. The composer felt that he had no

possibilities of further artistic development in his home country as Polish musical

circles were very conservative at that time. Paris, on the other hand, was an

international centre of musical life in which artists from all over the world arrived

to "découvrir un climat artistique et intellectuel" of the city.

Tansman very quickly became popular in the French music market. In the

1920s and 1930s his brilliant career developed on an international scale. His

successes in Paris were followed by series of concerts abroad. In the years 1927–

1928, on the initiative of the eminent conductor Serge Koussevitzky, Tansman

undertook his first tour of the United States, followed by the second one a year

later (1929/1930). Between 1932 and 1933 he went on a tour around the world

including the Middle and the Far East, Southeast Asia and Africa.

In the interwar period Tansman᾽s compositions were performed by the most

outstanding instrumentalists (Bronisław Huberman, Jascha Heifetz, Gregor

Piatigorsky) and directed by great conductors (Arturo Toscanini, Serge

Koussevitzky, Leopold Stokowski, Pierre Monteaux). His works won favour with

music critics16 and became the subject of detailed studies (Raymond Petit, Irving

Schwerke).17 Only in Poland, Tansman᾽s home country, were his compositions

rarely performed,18 not very favourably received19 or went completely

16. In the interwar period Tnasmann᾽s music was discussed in the influential French

La Revue Musicale journal by such outstanding critics as: Roland-Manuel, Boris de

Schloezer, André Coeuroy, Raymond Petit, Arthur Hoérée.

17. In 1929 La Revue Musicale published the monographic article "Alexandre

Tansman" by Raymond Petit, and in 1931 Irving Schwerke᾽s monograph entitled

Alexandre Tansman, compositeur polonais was published.

18. After Tansman had left for Paris, there was the first concert of his music held in

Warsaw in 1932. It was his piano recital. Then, in 1936 his music was presented on the


50

unnoticed.20 The composer was very regretful about that, expressing his feelings

in the article "O mojej twórczości muzycznej" [On my music works] published in

the Muzyka journal in 1925:

My homeland is a country where my works are performed more rarely than

anywhere else, the compositions that have been played on most of European and

American stages have not been performed in the Philharmonic Hall; all of my works

have been published abroad, none at home; Polish correspondents deliberately

ignore everything that concerns my contribution to the modern trend *<+.21

The dislike for Tansman in Poland intensified sharply in the years immediately

before the Second World War in connection with an increasing wave of

persecutions against Jewish composers which was instigated by Goebbels in 1936

and culminated in the Entartete Musik exhibition in Düsseldorf in 1938. In that

year, as a form of protest against the collaboration of the Polish government with

Nazi Germany, anti-Semitism and Nazi sympathies in his home country,

Tansman renounced his Polish citizenship and took French citizenship.

During the Second World War Tansman lived with his wife Colette Cras22

and two daughters – Mireille and Marianne – in Los Angeles. In 1946 he returned

to France and settled in Paris, where he continued his artistic activities. After 1956

he renewed contact with Poland. His first visit to the country was connected with

the 70th anniversary of his birth and took place in 1967, followed by subsequent

visits in 1978, 1979 and 1980. As part of those visits concerts of his music were

held. Tansman was decorated with the Medal of the Polish Composers᾽ Union

(1979), the Gold Badge of Order of Merit of the Polish People᾽s Republic (Council

of State, 1983), and the Order of Merit to Polish Culture (Minister of Culture and

Art of the Polish People᾽s Republic, 1983). Moreover, before his death, in 1986,

Polish Radio in Roman Jasiński᾽s programme in the series "Portraits of Polish composers"

and during a symphony concert in Warsaw Philharmonic Hall (the programme included

Tansman᾽s Deux Pieces pour orchestre).

19. Zdzisław Jachimecki, Muzyka polska 1986-1930 (Polish music 1986-1930), part 4

(Warszawa, 1931); Konstanty Regamey, "Muzyka polska na tle współczesnych prądów"

(Polish music and modern trends), Muzyka Polska no. 7-8 (1937), 341-352; Cegiełła, Dziecko

szczęścia, 302-303, 437-439, 440.

20. Konstanty Regamey, "Dwadzieścia lat muzyki w Polsce" (Twenty years of music

in Poland), Muzyka Polska no. 11 (1938), 477-488. This jubilee article published on the 20th

anniversary of regaining independence by Poland does not mention Tansman᾽s name.

21. "Ojczyzna moja jest krajem, w którym dzieła moje są wykonywane rzadziej niż

gdziekolwiek; utwory grane na większości estrad europejskich i amerykańskich,

pozostają przez lata w Filharmonji bez wykonania; wszystkie moje dzieła są wydane

zagranicą, a żadne w kraju; korespondenci polscy świadomie zamilczają wszystko co

dotyczy mej sytuacji w ruchu nowoczesnym *<+." Aleksander. Tansman, "O mojej

twórczości muzycznej" (On my music works), Muzyka no. 4-5 (1925), 206.

22. Colette Cras was a French pianist. Tansman married her in 1937.


51

he was granted (in absentia) the title of Doctor Honoris Causa by the Academy

of Music in Łódź. Tansman died in Paris on the 15th of November 1986 at the

age of 89.

The overview of Tansman᾽s life makes one realize how complex the issue of

his identity is. The composer had Jewish roots and spent most of his life in France

– his second homeland. At the same time, however, he was a Pole. There were

strong ties that connected him with Polish culture – something he frequently

emphasized in his statements. He always considered himself a Polish composer

and that was how he was perceived by musicologists, the confirmation of which

is the monograph Alexandre Tansman, compositeur polonais by Irving Schwerke.23

Although his works were not performed in Poland for a long time and were

consistently ignored by music critics,24 the composer unambiguously stated his

affiliation with Polish culture through his music.

The works which draw on the traditions of Polish culture constitute a

significant part of Tansman᾽s oeuvre. The research material gathered by the

author for the purpose of this study consists of 28 works including collections of

more than ten miniatures. They have been analysed in terms connections with

Polish culture. The discussion of the results of the author᾽s analyses will include

non-musical and musical attributes of Polishness.

Non-Musical Attributes of Polishness

The starting point for the discussion of Tansman᾽s connections with Polish

culture are the composer᾽s own statements. He repeatedly expressed his opinion

on that matter. From his many statements, it is worth quoting the one that he

made during the interview conducted by Janusz Cegiełła in 1971. Tansman

admitted that:

We cannot expunge childhood and teenage years, cultural traditions and the

memory of the surroundings where we grew up from our lives. Volens nolens,

23. Irving Schwerke, Alexandre Tansman compositeur polonaise (Paris: Editions Max

Eschig, 1931).

24. The situation started to change in 1977 when Ruch Muzyczny published three

articles by Andrzej Zieliński *"Klasyk polskiej muzyki współczesnej" (The classic of Polish

modern music)+, Zofia Helman *"Estetyka twórczości Aleksandra Tansmana" (Aesthetics

of Aleksander Tansman᾽s music)+ and Tadeusz Kaczyński *"Między Polską a Francją"

(Between Poland and France)]. Then in 1995 Anna Granat-Janki᾽s book Forma w twórczości

instrumentalnej Aleksandra Tanamsna (Form in Aleksander Tansman᾽s instrumental music)

was published, followed in 1996 by the two-volume monograph Dziecko szczęścia,

Aleksander Tansman i jego czasy (A child of luck. Aleksander Tansman and his times) (the

first volume was published in 1986) and the book Gitara w twórczości Aleksandra Tansmana

(The guitar in Aleksander Tansman᾽s music) by Andrzej Wendland.


52

whether my music is known in my home country or not, I belong to the Polish

culture. I am a citizen of France *<+, but it does not change my artistic affiliation

which has always manifested itself in my music – since the very beginning to the

present day.25

Earlier, in 1948, in his book on his friend Igor Stravinsky, Tansman expressed his

view on artists᾽ national identification. In his opinion, national identity does not

result only from the presence of forms and genres typical of folk music in a given

composer᾽s oeuvre, but is determined by the composer᾽s relation with the

musical tradition of a particular country.26 Undoubtedly, Tansman felt emotionally

connected with Poland, he was interested in Polish affairs, followed attentively

the events happening in his home country and protested against various forms of

political violence.

A title is a special type of sign which, together with the reference to its object,

creates a communicative situation, broadly conceived.27 According to Słownik

terminów literackich (Dictionary of literary terms) a title is a name given to a work

by its author, it is an integral part of the work᾽s text and its first distinct section.28

It fulfils two major functions: identifying (signifying) one and informative

(semantic) one, and additionally it serves an evocative function.

The titles of Tansman᾽s compositions allow for those works to be

unambiguously identified with Polish culture. The following titles should be

mentioned in the first place: Rapsodie polonaise, Quatre danses polonaises and Suite in

modo polonico. They all include the adjective "Polish." In those cases the title serves

an informative and identifying function, forming multiple connections with the

content of the work that it names and symbolizes. This is exemplified by Four

Polish Dances which include: polka (1st movement), kujawiak (2nd movement),

dumka (3rd movement) and oberek (4th movement). Thus, the composition

employs two Polish national dances: kujawiak and oberek, which originate in folk

music (Example 1).

25. "Nie można wykreślić z życia lat dziecięcych i młodzieńczych, tradycji

kulturalnych, pamięci otoczenia, w którym się wzrastało. Volens nolens, czy moja muzyka

jest w kraju znana czy nie, należę do kultury polskiej. Jestem obywatelem Francji *<+, ale

nie zmienia to bynajmniej mojej przynależności artystycznej, która zresztą dawała i daje

nadal o sobie znać w całej mojej twórczości – od początku aż do chwili obecnej." Cegiełła,

"Aleksander Tansman," in Szkice do autoportretu polskiej muzyki współczesnej (Sketches for the

self-portrait of Polish contemporary music) (Kraków: PWM, 1979), 61.

26. Alexandre Tansman, Igor Stravinsky (Paris: Amiot-Dumont, 1948), 63.

27. The functions that a title of a musical work may serve are discussed by Hanna

Kostrzewska. *Hanna Kostrzewska, "Funkcje tytułu dzieła muzycznego" (The functions of

a work of music᾽s title), in Dzieło muzyczne i jego funkcje (Work of music and its functions), ed.

Anna Nowak (Bydgoszcz: Akademia Muzyczna, 2010), 69-82.]

28. "Tytuł" (Title), in Słownik terminów literackich (Dictionray of literary terms), ed.

Janusz Sławiński (Wrocław: Ossolineum, 2000), 596.


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Example 1. A. Tansman, Quatre danses polonaises for orchestra, 2nd

movement: Kujawiak

Source: Editions Max Eschig, 1932. A. Granat-Janki᾽s private collection.

In another composition – Polish Rhapsody – the title refers to those fragments

of the piece where the expressive character has been determined by various

tempo markings, such as Tempo di polonaise, Tempo di mazurka, Tempo di mazur,

which are typical tempos of Polish folk dances. The title Suite in modo polonico, in

turn, corresponds to the 7th movement of the composition – Alla polacca, where

the expressive character of music is defined by the name. In all of the above-

mentioned compositions the titles additionally serve an evocative function and

thus trigger an emotional reaction in the listener.

Another type of verbal signs that can be found in Tansman᾽s scores are

dedications. They are addressed to the Poles with whom composer was bound

by ties of friendship. Among them there are performers and conductors who had

his works in their repertoire. Suite dans le style ancien (1929) was composed for the

pianist Karol Szreter, Symphonie No 5 en ré (1942) – for the conductor and

composer Paweł Klecki, and Sinfonietta No 2 (1977) – for the conductor Renard

Czajkowski. The collection of piano miniatures entitled Album d᾽amis is a kind of

gift for friends. The third miniature was dedicated by Tansman to his biographer

Janusz Cegiełła, and the sixth one – to the musicologist Tadeusz A. Zieliński. On

the pages of Tansman᾽s scores one may find names of outstanding figures of the

musical world, such as: the pianist Arthur Rubinstein (Quatre prelude, 4th movt.

[1921], Étude-scherzo [1922], Sonate No. 2 [1928]), the pianist Ignacy Jan Paderewski

(Vingt pièces facile sur des mélodie populaires polonaises [1924]), the harpsichordist

Wanda Landowska (Polonaise, 1935) or the composer Karol Szymanowski (Quatre

préludes, 6th movt. [1921]). Some of the dedications are related to painful events in


54

Polish history, for example Polish Rhapsody (1940) is dedicated to the defenders

of Warsaw during the Second World War.

Non-musical signs also include outstanding figures in Polish history and

culture. They serve the function of national symbols. The signs of this type are

deeply rooted in a given nation and they represent its social power. Their role is

to express and consolidate national identity.29

The following figures were chosen by Tansman as national symbols: Lech

Wałęsa – the politician and founder of the Solidarity Movement who contributed

to the fall of communism in Poland, the national composer Fryderyk Chopin and

the great pianist Arthur Rubinstein. The composer paid them a tribute in his

works: Hommage à Lech Walesa, Hommage à Chopin and Hommage à Arthur

Rubinstein (Example 2).

Example 2. A. Tansman, Hommage à Lech Walesa for guitar, p. 1


29. Michael E. Geisler, National Symbols, Fractured Identities. Contesting the National

Narrative (Middlebury, 2005), 15.


55

Musical Attributes of Polishness

In the process of semiotisation of music an important role is played by

quotations. According to the Polish musicologist Mieczysław Tomaszewski, a

quotation in the literal sense means:

*<+ quoting someone else᾽s music in one᾽s own composition in a fully intentional

and overt manner, that is in a way that marks it out and makes it easier for the

listener to identify and understand the aim and meaning of the quotation.30

An exact quotation serves its function by evoking certain sentimental, symbolic,

ideological or patriotic associations.

In Tansman᾽s case quotation is connected with the composer᾽s identification

with the Polish nation and culture. He has manifested his ethnic and cultural

affiliations especially in Rapsodie polonaise (1940). In the movement marked as

Tempo di mazurka he quoted the Polish national anthem – Jeszcze Polska nie zginęła

(Poland is not yet lost) (Dąbrowski᾽s Mazurka).

The quotation of the national anthem – the symbol of the Polish state – in a

composition dedicated to "the defenders of Warsaw" ("aux defenseurs de

Varsovie") who in 1939 fought for the capital against Nazi invaders has a

symbolic and patriotic meaning. The composer refers to the tempo and rhythm of

a mazurka which is a Polish national dance. In the national anthem the melody

quoted by Tansman is accompanied by the words: "Poland has not yet perished,

so long as we still live. What the alien force has taken from us, we shall retrieve

with a sabre,"31 and because of that it evokes associations with national

sovereignty and independence.

In another two compositions Tansman quoted Polish folk tunes which he

remembered from childhood. In Scherzetto popularesco – the second movement of

Sinfonietta No 2 (1978) – he used quotations of three popular folk songs: Umarł

Maciek umarł (Died, Maciek has died), Krakowiaczek jeden (A man from Cracow) and

Wlazł kotek na płotek (A kitten climbed the fence).

The composition Vingt pièces facile sur des mélodie populaires polonaises (1924) in

turn – in keeping with its title – includes quotations of such popular Polish tunes

as Umarł Maciek umarł (Died, Maciek has died), Wlazł kotek na płotek (A kitten climbed

30. "*<+ przytoczenie w utworze własnym muzyki cudzej dokonane po pierwsze –

w pełni świadomie, po drugie zaś w pełni jawnie, czyli uczynione w sposób wyróżniony,

ułatwiający słuchaczowi identyfikacje i rozumienie celu i sensu tego przytoczenia."

Tomaszewski, Muzyka Chopina na nowo odczytana (Chopin᾽s music rediscovered) (Kraków:

Akademia Muzyczna, 1996), 117. Quoted after: Bogumiła Mika, Sposoby użycia cytatu

muzycznego jako strategia interstylistyczna (The use of musical quotation as an interstylistic

strategy). Retrieved from https://ces.to/X1e5tl.

31. "Poland is not yet lost," in Wikipedia. The Free Encyklopedia. Retrieved from

https://ces.to/9tTjr6.


56

the fence) and the religious song Boże coś Polskę (God save Poland). This last song

is strongly related to the history of the Polish state. Up until 1918 it was

considered an unofficial anthem of independent Poland and even today the

audiences customarily stand up when this song is performed, just as in the

case of the national anthem.

Also musical genres are the signs that testify to Tansman᾽s affiliation

with Polish culture. The composer employed folk dance genres. He often used

a stylized mazurka dance, that is an artistic arrangement combining three

Polish folk dances: mazurka, kujawiak and oberek. The ideal model of this

genre in piano music was developed by Fryderyk Chopin and it was to this

composer that Tansman referred to when he was composing his four series of

Mazurkas for piano (Example 3). He started working on those pieces in 1918

and altogether he composed 36 mazurkas collected in four volumes published

in the years: 1929 – the first volume, 1932 – the second, 1941 – the third and

fourth volumes. It was not the original folk dance that became the starting

point for Tansman᾽s work. The composer had no direct contact with Polish

folk music. He drew his notion of Polish folklore from Chopin᾽s stylized

compositions. When discussing Tansman᾽s mazurkas one should consider the

means of stylization that he used. Following Chopin᾽s example, he stylized all

dances of the mazurka type: the mazurka itself, the kujawiak and the oberek,

preserving their fundamental features (rhythm, metre, tempo and expressive

character). The melodic lines of his works are based on major and minor scales

as well as modal scales, especially the Lydian mode, which he considered the

most typical scale of Polish folklore determining the specific sound of Polish

folk music.32 He uses a drone of a fifth in the bass to imitate the sound of the

basolia being tuned up in a folk music band and the tempo and rhythmic

patterns typical of the above-mentioned mazurka-type dances. What

definitely differs Tansman᾽s mazurkas from Chopin᾽s is the harmony. The

mixed range of harmonic structures used by the composer includes: major,

minor and quartal chords, secondal harmony, bitonality and structures of

purely sonic qualities, such as series of parallel chords.33

32. Alain Jomy and Catherine Ravet᾽s radio programme, Portrait d᾽Alexandre

Tansman, part 1, Radio France, Paris, 21 February 1985.

33. On Tansman᾽s mazurkas and inspiration by folk music, see Granat-Janki, "Forma

w twórczości instrumentalnej, and Granat-Janki, "Les changements de style d᾽Aleksandre

Tansman, 76.


57

Example 3. A. Tansman, Mazurkas for piano, volume 1 (1918–1928),

Mazurka no. 1 – Oberek (fragment), p. 1


It should be noticed that the rhythmic patterns of the mazurka type were

particularly close to the composer᾽s heart, from the first mazurkas that can

probably be dated to 1915 to the ones composed in the evening of life, such as

Album d᾽amis from 1980 (3rd movt. Tempo di Mazur), Hommage à Lech Walesa from

1982 (Tempo di Mazurka) or Alla Polacca from 1985, which closes his oeuvre.

It is worth mentioning that Tansman stylised Polish folk dances not only

in the series of piano Mazurkas. The kujawiak and the oberek can also be found

in his Suite in modo polonico (3rd movt. – Kujawiak, 9th movt. – Oberek), while

the polonaise is included in such compositions as Rapsodie polonaise (2nd movt.

– Tempo do polonaise), Suite in modo polonico (4th movt.) and Sérénade No. 2 for

violin, viola and cello (4th movt.: Danse Polonaise).

By stylizing folk music the composer draws the listener᾽s attention to those

elements of music which evoke Polish folklore in the genres that originate in folk

dance music. Similar techniques were used by Tansman in other instrumental

music genres. In the final (third) movement of his Triptych for string quartet he

employs the interval of an augmented fourth to construct the melody and pedal

points or drones of fifths in the accompaniment, thereby evoking the atmosphere

of folk music. He uses similar elements in the third movement of his String

Quartet No. 6. Its triple metre, the shape of the melodic line played by the first

violin with the tritone as a structural element, long sustained drones and a

specific expressive character point to Polish folklore as the source of inspiration.

In this case it is specifically highlanders᾽ music which Tansman knew thanks to

another Polish national composer – Karol Szymanowski.


58

One should remember, however, that Tansman often approached folk music

intuitively, and thus in his compositions he presented his own view of it. Such an

approach is described as imaginative folklore. For Tansman Polish music was a

synthesis of melancholy and exuberance,34 which were epitomised in dances such

as polonaise, oberek and kujawiak. This music is also characterised by a specific

mood, which in the case of Chopin᾽s works was described as "sorrowful."

Tansman claimed that the Polish character of his music can be noticed even in his

last compositions.

Musical symbols are signs with strong semantic charge. The most important

of them is the music of the Polish national composer Fryderyk Chopin. When

analysing Tansman᾽s works one is bound to notice Chopin᾽s influence. Even a

cursory glance at the catalogue of Tansman᾽s piano compositions calls up

associations with Chopin᾽s music.35 Apart from 36 mazurkas he also composed

three ballads, four nocturnes, five impromptus, a number of preludes and two

works in memory of Chopin: Tombeau de Chopin for string orchestra and Hommage

à Chopin for guitar, in which he stylized the genres typical of Chopin᾽s music

(nocturnes, preludes, waltzes and mazurkas). Moreover, he also used in his

compositions such markings as Mazurka "à la Chopin" (3rd movt. of Quatre Danses

Miniatures) or Intermezzo Chopiniano (2nd movt. of Concertino pour piano), which

suggest to the performers that the pieces should have Chopinian character. The

Polish national composer played a significant role in the part of Tansman᾽s music

that can be described as national and folkloristic. The references to Chopin

proved that Tansman upheld the values that his music represented. The

composer of mazurkas and polonaises was a symbol of Polishness, "the Soul of

Poland."36 By referring to his music Tansman emphasized his own affiliation with

Polish culture and its fundamental values (Example 4).

34. Tadeusz Kaczyński, "Rozmowa z Aleksandrem Tansmanem" (Interview with

Aleksander Tansman), Ruch Muzyczny no. 20 (1973), 5.

35. On the connection between Tansman᾽s and Chopin᾽s music, see Kaczyński,

"Między Polską a Francją" (Between Poland and France), Ruch Muzyczny no. 13 (1977), 6-7.

Cf. Granat-Janki, "Valeurs et fonctions de la musique, 561-562 and Granat-Janki, "Tradition

and Modernity in Music.

36. Alicja Jarzębska, Spór o piękno muzyki. Wprowadzenie do kultury muzycznej XX wieku

(A dispute over beauty of music. Introduction to music culture of the 20th century)

Wrocław: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Wrocławskiego, 2004), 122.


59

Example 4. A. Tansman, Tombeau de Chopin for String Orchestra, p. 1

Source: Leeds Music Corporation, 1951. A. Granat-Janki᾽s private collection.

Another elements that also grow into musical symbols are the quotation of

the national anthem in Polish Rhapsody and the stylization of Polish folk music

that have been discussed above.

Conclusion

The study of Tansman᾽s oeuvre in which the semiotic perspective was

employed has proven that throughout his whole life the Polish émigré composer

identified himself with the Polish culture through his music. Poland was

particularly close to his heart, which he confirmed in the foreword to the book

Dziecko szczęścia, Aleksander Tansman i jego czasy (A child of luck. Aleksander Tansman

and his times) by Janusz Cegielła:

Of course I owe much to France, but no one who has ever listened to my music can

have any doubts as to the fact that I have always been and will always be a Polish

composer.37

Thus, for the composer of not only Polish but also Jewish descent, of Polish and

French nationality, the Polish culture came to be the main focus of interest. He

37. "Oczywiście wiele zawdzięczam Francji, ale nikt, kto kiedykolwiek słyszał moje

utwory, nie może mieć wątpliwości, że byłem, jestem i na zawsze pozostanę

kompozytorem polskim." Tansman᾽s written statement from 1983. Cegiełła, Dziecko

szczęścia, 5.


60

composed pieces that were perceived as Polish not only by Poles but also by

foreign listeners who easily identified them with the Polish nation. Aleksander

Tansman was an ambassador of Polish culture to the world although for many

years his music was underestimated in Poland and was not performed due to the

composer᾽s Jewish origins or because of the Polish state᾽s cultural policy. The use

of semiotic tools in the study allowed for the essence of Tansman᾽s music to be

identified. It lies in the meanings and senses that his works have been invested

with from the perspective of Polish history and culture.

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